This is Home (Now I'm Finally Where I Belong)
by Mimozka
Summary: It's been eight months since she's last seen him. Eight months since she stood in that same airport and sent him off to the other part of the world. No matter that all she wanted was to do was keep him with her or go with him. Unfortunately, neither had been an option at the time. - Olicity AU


_**Olicity au. They were high school sweethearts and after graduation Oliver joined the military. They don't see each other again for 8 months. - Prompt by Anon on Tumblr. That got away from me.**_

_**But then again, what else is new?**_

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Felicity was pacing back and forth in what small space she had in the crowded "Welcome" hall of Starling Airport.

It's been eight months since she's last seen him. Eight months since she stood in that same airport and sent him off to the other part of the world. No matter that all she wanted was to do was keep him with her or go with him. Unfortunately, neither had been an option at the time.

Most of her friends told her repeatedly how it was a bad idea to be in a long distance relationship. Her mother told her frequently that she was too young for that type of commitment. That she and Oliver were never going to work.

But Felicity didn't listen.

Sure, she appreciated that they were looking out for her and didn't want to see her hurt, but the truth was that neither one of them knew what it was really like between her and Oliver. The idea that she could have found her soulmate at 19 was something that most adults deemed as ridiculous.

_"You're so young! You have yet to see the world!" "Oh, you just think like that because you're fueled by your hormones." "It couldn't possibly be this serious."_

She's heard it all.

Sure, she and Oliver have had their difficulties, just like every other couple out there. Sometimes they blew things out of proportion. Hell, they even broke up once. Fortunately, it took them exactly four days and three hours to calm down and realize that being apart wasn't an option.

When Oliver had told her that he'd enlisted in the army, she'd been upset. Very upset. Not because he was going to go away - well, not so much about that - she was happy that he's found a way to achieve his goal. She knew he wanted to make the world a better place and she wasn't going to stop him. What upset her was the danger he was going to be in. The constant, life-threatening danger. She'd worried herself sick over it.

Felicity even asked Oliver to promise her he'd come back. He didn't. He couldn't. And it killed her, because she knew the reason why. He didn't want to make empty promises to her. She knew he was taking the situation seriously.

The first month was the hardest.

The adjustment of not having him near her, or not being able to call him when she wanted to hear his voice. Her bed seemed so much bigger without him in it. His shirts only did so much to comfort her, especially since she had to wash them at one point.

Instead she settled on sending him care packages and writing him letters, feeling a little like a heroine from a World War movie.

She wrote to him weekly, no matter that he rarely wrote back to her. She knew he wasn't allowed to say much about what he was doing. She understood.

But then came September and her classes at MIT started and her daily routine got a lot busier. She still missed him and thought of him daily, but she had college to keep her busy.

When things got especially bad, she'd call up Tommy and Laurel - and they would all miss him together.

Then, just before Christmas, she got a letter from Oliver telling her that he was about to be moved to a location that was top secret and their communications would be cut off. Of course, he'd apologized, told her he loved and missed her, told her how the thought that he was fighting to keep her safe was the only thing that kept him going most days. Confessed that he was ready to come home to her.

She ended up crying for the rest of the day and emptying a bottle of wine all by herself.

So imagine her surprise when she got a call from a Major Lance ten days ago, telling her that Oliver was coming home.

She's been counting down the minutes ever since and made sure to book tickets back to Starling for the appropriate date. Classes and homework be damned. There was nothing short of an apocalypse that would have been able to stop her from welcoming him home.

Her eyes had been glued to the arrivals screen since she entered the airport. Her heart beat quicker with each single minute that brought him closer to landing.

Her phone rang and she welcomed the distraction. According to the caller ID it was Thea calling.

_"Is he here yet?!"_ Oliver's little sister asked impatiently

"No, not yet, should land any moment though." Felicity replied.

_"Ugh, I want to see him."_ Felicity didn't need to see her in order to know the ten year old was vibrating with excitement.

"Me too," Felicity sighed.

_"You'll call when you're on the way right? Because everything has to be ready!" _

"Promise."

With that the call ended, leaving Felicity with a smile on her face. She and Thea had become a lot closer this past year.

Planning Oliver a surprise 'welcome home' party had been Tommy's idea, but once Thea caught wind about it, it turned into a monstrosity.

Their friends and family were all currently at the Queen mansion, waiting for Felicity to call them.

_Flight 5902 from Kabul has landed in Starling Airport._

The automated voice announced and Felicity found herself itching to get closer to the doors that would lead her to Oliver.

She couldn't. And it sucked.

So she started pacing again, her eyes shooting upwards every time she heard the soft 'woosh' sound of the doors being opened.

Her anticipation grew with each person that walked out of them that wasn't Oliver.

Until it was.

She saw him the moment he was within her eyesight. His uniform standing out in the sea of suits and casual wear.

He seemed tanner than when he left, his arms were broader than she remembered, accommodating some very impressive muscles that she was going to be very appreciative of later. His hair wasn't in a buzz cut anymore and the stubble he was sporting made her mouth go dry.

All she knew, was that one moment she was looking at him and the next she was running full speed towards him, shouting his name and pushing people out of her way.

It was a blur, both in her head and in her heart, and she was sure that the only thing she would remember later would be the feeling of being hauled into his arms with her legs crossed against her middle as they pressed the other as close to them as they could.

Oliver's lips were on her face, quicker than she could greet him, peppering her cheeks, forehead, chin and nose with kisses.

Oh how she's missed this.

Missed him.

"Hi," she gave him a cheesy grin, her hands traveling up the back of his head, roaming through his short hair.

"Hi," he whispered back, pulling back a little so he could make eye contact with her.

"Welcome home," she whispered, cupping both his cheeks.

"Not yet," Oliver smiled.

Before she could so much as ask what he meant, his lips met hers in a kiss.

She understood.

And she agreed.

Wholeheartedly.

That kiss, was such Felicity was sure she was going to cherish for the rest of her life. It filled her heart with warmth and made her body tingle all over from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

"Now, I'm home." Oliver returned her sappy smile, rubbing his nose against hers, as they caught their breaths.

He put her down on her feet and bent down to grab his bag again.

In turn, she snaked an arm around his waist.

"You should only wear this." she winked at him playfully as his free arm embraced her shoulders.

"Pretty sure you'll like me more out of it." Oliver teased her back as they maneuvered between the crowded place on their way to the car.

"We'll have time for that later." Felicity told him, her fingers tightening around his left side.

"Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise party." Oliver chuckled and his amusement only grew when he saw the shocked expression on his girlfriend's face. "Thea and Tommy are as predictable as it gets." he added with a laugh.

"Besides, we will have time for that later." he said after a moment, his voice somber. "Because I'm not going anywhere. I know I did good over there, but I can't handle being away from you and my family. We'll have all the time in the world."

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_**When Felicity takes over, she takes over. Nothing I can do about it. **_

_**I hope you like where I went with this. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. :) **_

_**PS: and yes! I did throw a bit from Veronica Mars: The Movie in there.**_


End file.
